
The new intern trying out
digital traveling
Tell us about your background
I grew up in Turku, Finland and moved to Sweden in 2016 to study Urban
and Regional planning at Lund University. During my studies, I did an
internship at Kiruna municipality where I got to follow the exciting process of
moving a city and learned more about the region. The internship sparked my
interest in the arctic area and the regions development, and after getting my bachelor’s
degree, I moved to Luleå to work for the Swedish Transport Administration
(Trafikverket), as a strategic planner. At Trafikverket, I assisted in
different projects surrounding long-term infrastructure development in northern
Sweden, and the cooperation with regional sectors such as tourism and reindeer
husbandry.
How did you become interested
in working at the International Barents Secretariat?
I stumbled upon the secretariats webpage through my previous work, and the
internship sounded like an interesting experience and a great way to expand my
horizons. Since I am interested in regional development and cross-border cooperation,
this seemed to be a perfect way to get more hands-on knowledge of these topics.
What will your work include at
the IBS?
As an
intern, I will assist the IBS team in their daily communication and
administrative tasks, work with news updates, and manage Secretariat’s social
media. Despite the ongoing pandemic limiting travel in the region, I am excited
to see what opportunities the online world has to offer and how we can move our
geographic connections to a digital landscape.
What do you enjoy doing in your
spare time?
Thanks to COVID-19 and spending a lot more time inside, I started knitting
and have made an impressive amount of sweaters so far (4!). I enjoy being in
nature and hiking, and I try to spend as much time as possible in the Finnish archipelago
during summer.